7. I Hates Rabbits

1 June, 2775. 15:33 UTC. Log entry by Ogier.

After an uneventful hyperspace flight and atmospheric re-entry, we are
inbound to Copenhagen Spaceport. European customs have sent us a form
to be filled out and filed with them, indicating declaration of various
items. About the only interesting thing we have to declare is Iki Piki's
pet rabbit.

During the flight, we have convinced Sirene to join our trading company,
and to contribute the emeralds as her part for a share in the
Legacy and all future profits we make. Serron is already on the
net looking up the best selling price for emeralds in Europe.

17:47 UTC. 18:47 European time. Log entry by Iki Piki.

Having touched down, we have cleared customs and arranged for the pick-up
of the emeralds from our ship. Unfortunately the re-entry seems not to
have agreed with our rabbit, who has fallen rather ill. We have just
consulted with spaceport quarantine and they have advised us to take the
rabbit to the spaceport veterinarian, who will determine if quarantine
is required.

We have decided that the profits from this trip are sufficient for us to
fully pay off our starting loan of Earth$25,000, and leave us enough
capital to continue our business. The loan will be paid off as soon as we
receive payment for the emeralds.

22:13 UTC. 23:13 European time. Log entry by Sirene.

My first evening in Europe, and it seems like a nice enough place. We had
to drop Iki's rabbit off at the vet, who told us he'd keep her under
observation overnight. Then we went out for a night on the town - dinner
in a fancy restaurant, seeing the sights and so on. We've decided to spend
tomorrow sightseeing and then see about picking up another cargo.

We have just checked up with the vet. He said the rabbit had been pregnant,
but that an adverse blood typing between the mother and the foetuses was
causing her to be sick. In order to save the mother he aborted the litter.
He said our rabbit was safe to take home now, fully recovered from the
experience, but I insisted he spay the animal to avoid any further problems
of a similar nature. Since he operates in the evening, this means we will
now pick up the rabbit tomorrow morning.

We are heading out now for a day of sightseeing. I might check out what
cargoes are available for purchase here later this afternoon.

14:20 UTC. 15:20 European time. Field log entry by Spanners.

We have just seen a somewhat disturbing news report on a street newsboard.
The spaceport vet, who we left our rabbit with, has apparently been killed
and his practice burnt down. We are rushing back to the spaceport to see
what has happened.

Jurgenssen: The arson squad are inside investigating. There's
nothing for you to see.

Serron: I could go in and check...

Jurgenssen: No.. please keep back...

[Loud explosion, somewhat muffled by distance.]

Sirene: What was that?!

Iki Piki: An explosion... there! Look!

Spanners: That's about where the Legacy is...

Spaceport PA Announcer: Attention! This is an evacuation alert! All
people on concourse D, or on board ships in that area, are to evacuate to
a safe area immediately. Departure clearance for all ships is suspended
until further notice. Emergency personnel are instructed to assist the
evacuation.

[Sirens. Shouting.]

Ogier: The Legacy! Let's go!

19:13 UTC. 20:13 European time. Log entry by Serron.

After the explosion distracted the policeman on duty at the vet's office, I
used the opportunity to investigate the remains of the fire myself, while the
others rushed to check on the Legacy.

The vet's practice was almost completely destroyed. It looked like an
incendiary grenade or something similar had gone off inside the building,
with molten glass and twisted metal everywhere, although I did manage to
find a few good trinkets in not too bad condition, which I've saved for later
examination. The animal holding room was likewise burnt, with the remains of
cages and only a few charred bones remaining.

After looking in there, I bumped into one of the arson squad investigators.
Before he realised what I was doing in there, I asked him a set of questions
and managed to learn that the vet's body had been found dead, apparently from
a blaster shot, and that none of his records had survived the inferno. As he
was ejecting me from the building, I also learnt that they hadn't any thoughts
on a motive yet. With these bits of information, I left to join the others.

19:17 UTC. 20:17 European time. Log entry by Ogier.

After leaving Serron at the vet's office, the rest of us raced back to the
Legacy to check if the explosion had affected the ship. We had to
avoid a cordon placed around the concourse D area where the Legacy
was docked, but in the chaos it wasn't very difficult. Thankfully, when we got
back to the ship we found it intact - the explosion had been in a ship about
four docking bays away.

Once on board, we reviewed the external security video for the period before
the explosion, hoping to see anyone in the area acting suspiciously, but
nothing obvious presented itself. Spanners hacked into the spaceport computer
system to get some information on the ship that exploded. It turned out to be
a small independent merchant vessel of similar tonnage to the Legacy,
named Juan Fangio. It arrived on Earth from
Lyrane about a week ago, with a cargo
consisting of various bioplastics, explosives, and a shipment of fifty live
rabbits, being used as living embryo containers for the transport of
experimental animal clone samples. All the crew were on board and died in the
explosion.

19:23 UTC. 20:23 European time. Ship's internal audio log.

Serron: I knew we should have spaced that rabbit. Then we
wouldn't have this trouble.

Spanners: We're in no trouble. The vet was the one who had some
trouble.

Serron: But the situation is interesting...

Spanners: But you like interesting.

Serron: Yes...

Spanners: So it's good you didn't space the rabbit.

Sirene: Uh, guys.. can we decide what we're going to do? It seems
fairly obvious that whoever is reponsible for the killing of the vet and
the explosion on the Juan Fangio is actually after whoever had
that rabbit. It was the only ship registered as taking rabbits from Lyrane
to Earth recently, and you told me that's where you picked yours up.

Iki Piki: Yes, but of course we didn't know we had a rabbit on
board as we left Lyrane. Of course we declared it at Bollux, and now here on
Earth as we entered the system.

Ogier: So someone could possibly trace that as well...

Spanners: If they get access to customs records from Bollux, which
could take a week or so for a return trip.

Serron: If they got the records from the vet before they torched
the place, they could track us down more quickly.

Ogier: I think we should leave the system as soon as we can. Before
they do track us down!

Iki Piki: So first thing tomorrow we find some cargo, and leave as
soon as we can get departure clearance. Fair enough?

[Sounds of agreement.]

3 June, 2775. 08:21 UTC. 09:21 European time. Ship's radio log.

Voice:Legacy, this is Officers Harrison and Chung of the
European Police. We are doing ship-by-ship interviews with crews for any
information on the epxlosion on board the Juan Fangio yesterday.
Please open your air-lock to allow us on board. We'll only need a few
minutes of your time.

Spaceport control:Legacy, we copy. Security has been
dispatched. Please described your situation.

[Blaster fire. Several shots. Pause. More blaster fire.]

Ogier: Sorry about that... I'm being shot at! I'm locked in the
forward starboard cabin. Four crew are unconscious in the bridge area. Two
intruders aboard, armed with stunners and blasters. Now, I'm going to try
something to stop him shooting through the hole in the door again.

3 June, 2775. 10:13 UTC. 11:13 European Time. Log entry by Ogier.

The spaceport security people have saved us from the attack by the two
imposter police officers, who have now been taken into custody. They have
confirmed that their police identifications were forged, though it took
a good deal of examination to reveal the discrepancies.

Given recent events, we have decided to take on a cargo and leave Earth
as soon as possible. Serron has scanned the net for
likely cargoes and destinations, and it seems
we are going to take a load of hydroponically grown cloves to
Arawne.

We also came across an interesting ad for cheap
new spaceship fusion engines. We considered taking out another loan
to cover the purchase price of one of these engines, but nobody wants
to risk hanging around on Earth for the week or so which an engine
refit would take.